By Yomi Kareem
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, said it has arrested two pregnant women who were among drug traffickers arrested by its operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos for attempting to import and export illicit drugs through the airport in the last week.
In a statement by the Agency’s spokesperson Mr Femi Babafemi, yesterday, the first to enter the NDLEA’s dragnet is a Brazilian returnee, Nworie Phillip Chikwendu who was arrested on Tuesday May 3rd during an inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil enroute Doha to Lagos.
Adding that, during a thorough search of his luggage, two parcels of cocaine were discovered concealed in a pair of brown slippers hidden in his ox blood backpack. A further search of the pair of black slippers worn by the suspect also led to the recovery of additional two parcels of cocaine built into the soles of his foot wears, bringing the total to four parcels weighing 800grams.
NDLEA maintained that the following day, Wednesday 4th May, its operatives at the SAHCO export shed of the airport intercepted some cartons of alcoholic drinks suspected to contain illicit drugs. A freight agent who brought the consignment for export to Dubai, UAE, Shola Ogunrinde was immediately arrested while a follow up operation led to the arrest of a pregnant woman, Mrs. Seun Babatunde, who operates an alcohol joint in Pleasure area of Iyana Ipaja.
The second pregnant woman, Mrs. Gloria Asibor was arrested on Thursday 5th May while attempting to board a Turkish Airline flight to Bolonia, Spain via Istanbul, Turkey. A search of her luggage containing food items led to the discovery of 300 tablets of 200mg and 225mg high dosage Tramadol concealed in crayfish.
Meanwhile, large consignments of psychoactive substances have been intercepted in parts of Northwest, Northeast and North central. In Kaduna, a drug dealer, Obinna Anene a.k.a Young Alhaji was arrested on Friday 6th May at Buwaya Kaduna with 50,000 tablets of Diazepam weighing 9kg; 595 tablets of Tramadol weighing 318grams and 8 tablets of Co-codamol weighing 6grams.
Same day, a trafficker, Alhaji Modu Yahaya was caught with 26.5kg cannabis in Damaturu, Yobe state while travelling in a commercial vehicle from Abuja to Maiduguri, Borno state.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa rtd. has commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Kaduna, Yobe, Lagos and Plateau Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures. He charged them and those in other commands across the country to sustain the heat on drug cartels as well as balance their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
